


Can't Drown My Demons

by AwokenMonster



Series: Gifts [12]
Category: Hollywood Undead (Band)
Genre: Give hers some love, Hell's gates are open, Lurking Demons AU by ZyXEL continuation, M/M, Major Character's Disappearance, The demons feed off your sorrows
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-03-17
Packaged: 2019-04-03 18:29:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14001996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AwokenMonster/pseuds/AwokenMonster
Summary: ZyXEL wrote a fic called Lurking Demons about the gates of Hell releasing demons upon Earth. Johnny described his life before the apocalypse as"I didn`t really work, lived in my parents home and then eventually shared an apartment with two of my friends. J-Dog and Deuce they liked to call themselves, we used to go out to parties together and get laid and just simply have fun, they didn`t last long when these monsters appeared."What happened to Johnny's perfect little household on the day of the apocalypse?Lurking Demons AU





	Can't Drown My Demons

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MKelly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MKelly/gifts).



> Monster: Hi, guys! How are you all? Fanfiction.net's been bugging me by making sure I can't access the site and update Puzzle The Pieces so this weekend, I decided to post this gift instead! Blame Fanfiction.net's error for the lack of a PTP update. Anyway. You don't need to read Lurking Demons to understand this one but I'd recommend it. The quotes in italics were taken from Lurking Demons where Johnny tells the story of what his life was like before the apocalypse. Enjoy!
> 
> Baby sister, hope you're impressed enough to make it a chaptered fic.
> 
> Obviously I took the title from Bring Me The Horizon's song Can You Feel My Heart.

_..._

_“What about you?” Matt questioned..._

_…_

 

Johnny dumped his keys in the bowl, throwing his head back in an exasperated sigh when he spotted Jay’s keys on the table and Deuce’s on the kitchen counter. Why the fuck did he even bother to buy a bowl when he lived with cavemen?

 

_…_

_“I didn’t really work, lived in my parents’ home and then eventually shared an apartment with two of my friends. J-Dog and Deuce they liked to call themselves…”_

_…_

 

He dropped the brown bag onto the table, whistling loudly to draw their attention. “Guys! Food!”

No reaction.

Of course not. They wouldn’t fall for this trick anymore. Johnny managed to get them to fall for it twice already, they wouldn’t be fooled a third time. He’d come home with errands all packed, yell “food” at them and they’d come running. There would be no food for them yet but they’d have to help the oldest of the three unpack the groceries and put them away into the cupboards and fridge.

Not this time so Johnny quietly put away his stuff, wondering what the two were up to anyway. Part of him didn’t want to know.

They’d been awfully close these days. He’d rather not third wheel their newfound _friendship_. They expected him to believe that bullshit but even a blind man could see how their friendship was a cover-up. They were in love.

Clearly.

Come on.

Johnny knocked on the door to Jay’s room. “Come on, dude! I’m not preparing lunch for you guys by myself!”

Soon Jay’s tired face appeared in the doorway. He only just woke up. _He only fucking just woke up._ “Dude, keep it down.”

“I’m not keeping it down because you can’t hold your liquor. Hangover’s your fault. I went out with you guys and I’m fucking fresh”, Johnny argued, waving an apple at him before he took a bite.

Jay rubbed his eyes. “Yeah but you went home at, like, two fucking am. Only pussies leave at two am.”

“No, normal people leave at two am because shit only gets weird after that”, Johnny said, pulling up a chair and dropping his weight into it.

 

_…_

_“…We used to go out to parties together and get laid and just simply have fun…”_

_…_

Deuce opened the door to the living room, stretching and yawning as he joined them. “Yeah, nothing good ever happens after 2 am”, Deuce muttered.

Johnny threw his apple in the air, catching it again. “Then why’d you stay when I left?”

Deuce raised an eyebrow, shifting his gaze from Johnny to Jay and back. Johnny laughed maniacally. “Right, because you can’t do shit without Jay.”

“Shut up!” Deuce yelled flushed, wincing as his hangover didn’t like the loudness of his voice. Neither did Jay.

None of them liked a loud argument after a wild night out. Johnny threw the apple up once more but it didn’t come back down. Instead it disappeared into Deuce’s mouth as he bit a huge chunk out of it. “Thanks for the snack but I prefer lunch, Johnny.”

“Fuck you. Make your own!”

“You’re the only one who can cook, dude”, Jay snorted. “You’re making lunch.”

“Or I’m letting you guys starve?” Johnny argued. “Help me out. I’ll tell you what to do.”

Both guys groaned but Johnny knew they’d help him out now. He pointed at Deuce “You get the plates on the table.”

He looked at Jay “You’re gonna cut the vegetables.”

“Fine.”

The three of them split up when the ground shook. Hard and sudden. They didn’t predict an earthquake. What the fuck? Johnny ducked his head, sinking low to the ground. Jay jumped towards Deuce, trying to cover him. He was always looking out for the man. Always. Even if he endangered himself.

 

_…_

_“…J-Dog risking his life constantly to save Deuce…”_

_…_

 

Glass shattered, things fell off the sideboard. What the hell was going on? They scurried underneath the table, huddled together like a bunch of scared rabbits. Make it stop.

Whatever was going on, make it stop. And just like that, it stopped. The ground no longer shook but there was glass everywhere, a thin layer of dust all over the floor. There were cracks along the ceiling and walls in a pattern to mock them. Like claws reaching out for them.

“W-what was that?”

“The hell would I know?” Jay replied but he stayed put underneath the table, arms around Deuce to shield him from any harm. Johnny was the first to stand upright and cast a glance out their massive window looking over the street. Car alarms, crying and shouting had replaced the usual sound of cars driving. Some of the houses had collapsed but that didn’t catch his attention. There was a purple light on the horizon. It was small, a tiny little triangle but there was something there and it was calling him.

_George… Come._

“Did you guys hear that too?”

“What?”

Johnny shook his head. “Nothing. There’s a light in the distance.”

“A light? What about the fucking earthquake?” Jay snapped. “What do you see?”

“A light”, the oldest of the bunch murmured, hypnotized by its beauty when the clouds shrouded the street in darkness. It only made the light shine brighter but the clouds brought along a cold sensation. He exhaled, breath coming out in little clouds. It was freezing. Inside. What the fuck.

“I’m cold”, Deuce muttered, drawing Jay’s attention. He held the man closer. “Your lips are blue. Surely it’s not that cold.”

“It’s chilly”, Johnny muttered but Jay raised an eyebrow. “I don’t feel the cold.”

His breath didn’t form clouds either while Deuce looked like he was freezing his ass off. How could the temperature be different for each one of them? Johnny looked out the window again, breath hitching when he saw a shadow strike.

“What? What did you see?!” Jay yelled, reading the horror in Johnny’s face. The older shook his head. “I must be seeing things. Come have a look.”

“I’m cold”, Deuce muttered, barely able to keep his eyes open. Jay gently dragged him from underneath the table, helped him down on the couch and covered him in a blanket before he joined Johnny by the window. “What did you see?”

He couldn’t keep his eyes off Deuce. The man had lost all energy, merely a hue of the guy he usually was.

“Those”, Johnny bit his lip, pointing at the flickering shadows. They were moving faster than he could understand, only catching fragments of their appearance but what he could clearly see, was that they were snatching people away.

“There were people down there. Now there are none”, Johnny said, eyes wide. “There was crying and shouting after the quake. Now it’s just car alarms.”

Jay listened and his friend was right. There were no people left in the streets. Whatever those shadows were, they took everyone away.

“My head hurts”, Deuce wheezed. “I can’t feel my fingers.”

Johnny let his eyes linger on the man, trying to figure out just what the fuck was going on but when he turned on the television, it was only static imagery. No news, nothing. No connection to the world.

They were lost.

“But it’s warm.” Jay argued. “How can he freeze to death while I’m in a shirt?”

“It’s cold, dude”, Johnny muttered. “You just don’t feel it. Why can’t you feel it?”

“I don’t know. What are those things anyway? And what the hell was that purple light?”

“You saw the light too?”

“Yeah. On the horizon. It’s pretty hard to miss.”

“Did it speak to you?”

“No. Did it to you?”

Johnny shrugged. “It called for me.”

 

_..._

_“…They didn’t last long when these monsters appeared…”_

_…_

There was a roar. Loud and feral, near their front door. All three of them shot upright scared to death. “What’s that?”

“One of the shadow creatures, I presume”, Johnny whispered, hiding behind the couch, crouched. “Sit down.”

Jay followed but Deuce was still on there. He was shuddering violently. “I can’t move my legs.”

“Shh”, Jay hushed him. “We’ll be fine. You’ll be warmer soon, Aron.”

Another growl outside their door before it crashed into the wood. The door resisted the push but whatever was behind it, kept ramming into it, slowly bending the hinges. Jay crawled towards Aron’s side and held his hand while he kept glancing at the door. “Johnny, what should we do?”

“We have to escape.”

“How?”

“When the door gives in. We gotta run”, Johnny said. “Can you do that, Deuce?”

Deuce weakly nodded, trying to crawl to the floor to test his feet. “If it’s the only way to survive, I’ll try my best but I’m just so damn cold.”

He winced, a massive headache crashing over him. “It hurts.”

“What hurts?”

“It.”

“What’s it?” Jay asked but the door smashed open at the same time. Johnny dashed for the door, too afraid to look if the guys were following him. Too afraid when he ran through black smoke that made him feel so damn, damn _cold._

Past the creature into the hallway, he looked back. Jay was crouched by Deuce who was on his knees, he couldn’t stand. He couldn’t move. Aron was absolutely petrified, eyes wide as he stared at the black shadow.

“What is it?” Jay asked. “Aron, what is it?!”

“It’s…”, the man shuddered. “It’s Arina.”

The monster was in front of him. Quiet, immobile.

“Arina?”

“My baby sister”, he cried out. “She’s here.”

“Aron, Arina died years ago”, Jay stated, pulling on his arm but Deuce shook his head frantically. “Don’t listen to him, Arina. I believe you. You’re here. I missed you. I’m so fucking sorry. I wish I could’ve… But you’re here now and that’s all that matters. I’ll protect you from now on. I won’t let-… Not again. I won’t let it happen again. I promise.”

 

_…_

_“…Eventually Deuce got into so much trouble…”_

_…_

 

Johnny reached out, screaming “ARON, DON’T!” but he was too late. Deuce had leapt forward out of Jay’s grip to the demon in their living room, touched the black smoke that froze his fingertips. His face twisted into an expression of pain, eyes shut tightly. “It’s so cold and it hurts so much.”

Jay tried to reach out but he couldn’t reach him. Like he wasn’t there with him anymore. He frantically looked at Johnny, begging for him to help but Johnny didn’t understand one bit of it either. He shook his head. “It doesn’t make sense. What’s going on?”

“It hurts”, Deuce moaned before he vanished into thin air along the monster. Both were gone in a whirl of black smoke. Jay had tried to jump and grasp him but his fingers couldn’t touch the darkness. It slipped through his hands like there was nothing there. “Aron… That thing just took him… and we couldn’t do anything about it…”

Another roar in the hallway. Followed by a second one and a third one. “Jay, we gotta go.”

“It’s so cold”, Jay muttered. “I can barely move.”

His lips were a pale blue, eyes deep in their sockets as he stared up at Johnny. “I lost him, Johnny. I couldn’t protect Aron. He saw his sister. He couldn’t protect her when she died. I couldn’t protect him when they took him either.”

“Jay, come on. We have to get going. There are more of these out there!” Johnny begged. “We’ll get Deuce back, just please… move with me.”

Jay shook his head. “How can I move like this? It’ s-so cold.”

“Jay…”

“My head hurts”, he murmured. “Make it stop…”

Before he could respond, the shadow creatures appeared again. There were four of them, growling and moving too fast to comprehend. “We have to go NOW!”

Jay shook his head. “I couldn’t do anything.”

The oldest of the two grabbed his arm and tried to pull him up but Jay didn’t budge. The monsters were coming for them, charging at them, lurking and ready to attack but much to Johnny’s surprise, they only had eyes for Jay.

His friend looked up. “Aron?”

His face lit up when he looked at the demon. “You’re not gone? Man, I thought I lost you…”

 

_…_

_“…that neither of them escaped and I was on my own…”_

_…_

 

Johnny stared at his hands. There had been four of them. All four of them were gone and they took Jay with them. He couldn’t stop them, he couldn’t touch them, he couldn’t harm them. They didn’t show a sign of interest in him. All he felt, was a deep sorrow pulling him down but he knew he couldn’t let it get the better of him.

When Jay lost Aron, he let the grief get to him and it had been a beacon for the monsters. They fed off their sorrows, fears and guilt. He knew that now after witnessing Jay’s horrible disappearance. He had seen Aron in the beast. He had seen the one he would’ve loved to see the most.

They had lured him into the darkness with his love and loss.

What a cruel fate but Johnny couldn’t let it get to him. He had to keep warm. The cold and pain attracted the demons.

 

_…_

_“…I’m used to being on my own though…”_

_…_

He had to keep going. Keep moving. Flee. Away from these beasts, away from the city, away from everything he knew and his easy life. He had to survive. What for? He had no idea but maybe, just maybe, Jay and Deuce weren’t gone yet. Maybe they could be saved and there wasn’t another person in the world who would try to save them.

He had to survive.

 

_…_

_“Did you ever think you’d get this far?” Johnny asked and Matt shook his head._

_…_

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a comment, they're our heavy fuel!


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